Towel support and retainer.



L. RANK.

TOWEL SUPPORT AND RETAINER.

APPLICATION men MAY 6. ms.

Patented Jan. 28, 1919.

. To all whom it may concern:

OFFICE.

LEOPOLD BANK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TOWEL SUPPORT AND RETAINER. I

Be it known that I, LEOPOLD RANK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illino1s, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Towel Supports and Retainers, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to produce a simple and novel means for supporting and retaining any desired number of towels so as to permit them to be used freely one-after the other and yet be held against removal by an unauthorized person.

Another object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel retaining means for towels which will permit them to be placed within a closed cabinet where they will be protected, and at the same time be conveniently removable one at a time without opening the cabinet.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a towel rack or shelf equipped in accordance with one embodiment f the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view ofthe rack;

Fig. 3 is a section, on a somewhat larger scale, of a fragment of the rack showing a pile of towels in position;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a slightly modified form of rest;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the spring plate shown in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a cabinet embodying the present invention.

Reference being had to Figs. 1 to 5, 1 represents a suitable towel support which takes the form of a shelf for the bottom of a cabinet and is preferably, though not neces sarily, inclined downwardly somewhat from the rear toward the front. The member 1 has a slot, 2, extending through the same from the, front edge toward the rear; the slot being somewhat wider than the diame- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 6, 1918. Serial No. 232,716.

ter of the gromets or eyelets that are ordinarily employed or that it may be desired to employ in towels adapted to be strung on a retainer. Above the member 1 is supported a vertical rod, 3, bent forwardly at its lower end, as indicated at 4, so as to provide a heel, 5. The part 4 is comparatively short and, at its front end, it is bent downwardly to form a second heel, 6, in front of and below the heel 5. Both of the heels are preferably gradually rounded. The parts are so proportioned that the heel 5 rests upon or extends into proximity to the upper surface of the supporting member 1 in the vicinity of the rear edge of the slot while the downwardly bent front end of the part it-extends downwardly into the slot so that the heel 6 lies within the slot. The parts just described serve to support a stack of towels threaded upon a rod and to permit the towels to be removed one at a time from the bottom, as will hereinafter be explained. In order to permit the towels to be freely used as they are withdrawn from the bottom of the stack, and at the same time be locked against being carried away, there should extend from the lower end of the rod, that is from the front end of the forwardly and downwardly projecting portion, some sort of a retaining member. In the arrangement shown, this retaining member takes the form of a continuation of the rod itself; there being a part, 7, extending forwardly from the heel 6 through the slot in the supporting member to the front end of the latter; the part 7 ending in a downwardly and rearwardly inclined part, 8, of any desired len h depending upon what disposition is to e made of the towels after they have been used. The rod is shown as being hooked at its lower end through an eye, 9, while at its upper end it passes throu h a perforated block or bracket, 10, and is eld' in place by a lock, 11, passing through a hole in the rod above the member 10. The hook, 12, at the lower end of the rod is so shaped that when the upper end of the rod is slipped out of the bracket and is swung forwardly through a predetermined angle, the hook may be lifted from the eye.

The towels are strung upon the part 3 of the retainer and lie upon the shelf or support. The gromet or eyelet, 13, of the lowermost towel, 14, slips down upon the heel 5 as best shown in Fig. 3. If now the front end of the towel isgrasped and drawn fordown the part 8 of the retainer as shown in Fig. 1. Only one towel at a time can be drawn forward. This is brought about by shaping the heel 5 and the under side of the part 4 so that while the lowermost gromet or eyelet is in position to slide forwardly on the part 4, the gromet or eyelet in the second towel from the bottom is still around a straight part of the rod 3 and therefore a forward pull would not produce any component tending to slip the gromet oreyelet along the,,reta1ner. Ifthe parts are nicel adjusted, the rod may be given a fixed posi- 7 tion that'is, be held agalnst movement up and down. On the other hand, if the rod' be given freedom for a slight up and down movement in its supports, it may normally rest upon the support or shelf just in front of the heel 5, making it necessary that the rod be lifted bodily through a short distance to permit the eyelets to pass between the 7 part 4 and the upper surface of the support or shelf.

Instead of making the rod act as a sort of holding weight, the same end may be served by placing at the rear end of the slot 2 a forwardly projecting spring finger, 15, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 this spring finger engaging with the under side of the rod in rear of the heel 6 so that the finger must be pressed down by a wedging action of the gromet or eyelet assing forwardly along the part 4: of the retaining rod when a towel is being withdrawn. The finger 15 may conveniently be made as a part of a wear plate, 16, which will protect the shelf or support in the zone through which the gromets or eyelets are drawn under pressure. where the spring finger is dispensed with it may be advisable to employ a wear plate,

as indicated at 17 in Fig. 1, for protective purposes. If the slot were not provided, each towel would have the weight of the whole pile resting on the eyelet or gromet until it was completely withdrawn from underneath the pile; but, by slotting the support and placing the forwardly extending part7? of the retainer in or below the slot,'the pressure on the eyelet or gromet is released just as soon as the heel 6 is passed.

In view of the fact that the towels are removed from the bottom of the pile, it is possible to adapt my invention to closed towel cabinets which need not be open at the top so as to permit dust and dirt to enter; but which will permit the towels to be withdrawn in a natural manner-by providing the cabinets with narrow discharge slots or open- Even 'ings just above the bottom or the support door 19 is cut ofi at the bottom so as to leave a comparatively narrow opening 20, between the lower edge of the door and the bottom wall, 21, of the cabinet. In the wall 21 is cut the slot 2 while in the top wall of the cabinet there may be placed a slot, 22, which will permit the upper end of the'retaining rod, 3, to be placed in position readily. The opening 20 is high enough to permit the lowermost towel, 14:, of a pile in the cabinet to be grasped easily when it is to be withdrawn.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single form of my invention with slight modifications,I-d0 not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which come within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a support for a pile of towels, a rod arranged above said support in position to extend through registering openirgs in the towels, said rod having a part at its lower end bent laterally in the vicinity of the towel-supporting surface of said support, and means extending from the front end of said part to the front end of said support for retaining the towels after they have been drawn laterally.

2. In a device of the character described, a support for a pile of towels, and a towel retainer extending downwardly from a point above the support into the vicinity of the towel-supporting surface of the support and then laterally toward one edge of the support and then downwardly.

3. In a device of the character described, an upright rod having its lower end bent laterally so as to form a rounded heel, and means for supporting a pile of towels strung on said rod in such position that the lowermost towel has a part yieldably held in engagement with said heel so as to permit that towel to be drawn along the lateral portion of the rod by a pull in the direction of said lateral portion without danger of giving to the next succeeding towel a simultaneous similar movement.

4. In, a device of the character described, an upright rod having its lower end bent laterally so as to form a rounded heel, means for supporting a pile of towels strung on said rod in such position that the lowermost towel has a part in engagement with said heel so as to permit that towel to be drawn along the lateral portion of the red by a pull in the direction of said lateral portion, and

an upright rod arranged above the support means extending from the end of said lateral portion for retaining the towels after they have been drawn laterally. v

' 5. In a device of the character described, an upright rod having its lower end bent laterally, a support for a pile of towels strung on said rod having its u per surface lying just below the laterallyent portion of the rod, said support having a slot extending through the same fromfone edge into the vicinity of said rod, and means extending from the end of the lateral portion of the rod through said slot toward said edge of the support.

6. In a device of the character described, a support for a pile of towels having a slot extending inwardly from one, edge thereof,

beyond the inner end of the slot, sai rod having a part bent laterally just above the support and then downwardly into said slot.

7. In a device of the character described, a support for a pile of towels having a slot extending inwardly from one edge thereof, an upright rod arranged above the support beyond the inner end of the slot, said rod having a part bent laterally in the vicinity of the top of the support and then downwardly into the slot and laterally through the same to said edge of the support.

8. In a device of the character described, a sup ort for a pile of towels having a slot exten ing inwardly from one edge thereof, a rod arranged above said support in position to extend through registermg openings in the towels, said rod having a part of its lower end bent laterally in the vicinity of said slot, and means extending from the free end of said part into and along the general direction of the slot to permit the lowermost towel of the pile to be drawn off of said.

support.

9. In a device of the character described, a support for a pile of towels having a slot extending inwardly from one edge through the same, and a towel retaining member extending downwardly from a point above the support into the vicinity of the towel supporting surface of the support and then laterally through said slot and then downwardly.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

LEOPOLD RAN K. 

